Magdalena Scott's Blog

My early, and even not-so-early, impression of green tea was that it tasted like boiled grass. I drank a (very) occasional cup, thinking perhaps I should, for health reasons. I can honestly say I never had the desire to make it a part of my daily routine.

Never say never, right? 
In recent months, I've been smacked with some unpleasant realities. I have anxiety disorder, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. French press coffee, much as I love(d) it, is a factor in all three. So the press is now stored on top of my kitchen cabinet, between Spot's ashes, and the lobster-shaped jello mold. Just for old times' sake, here's a photo of the press, taken back in the good old days.


I appreciate the time and patience of my nurse-practitioner, and friends and family, who are helping me make lifestyle changes in order to get back to feeling like myself. I'm not there yet, but I'm making progress. I've lost a few pounds, and gained some needed insight. This has all been a long time coming. (I'm super thankful that another health concern turned out to be nothing. Until I found that out, there was plenty of anxiety around it. Ugh.)

Though I've tried to eat healthy, now I use an app to help me see how I'm doing. Better some days than others, but generally, progress is occurring.

I have also removed several apps from my phone--ones that did nothing but cause more anxiety (every news app), encourage comparison of my life or career to someone else's (Instagram, Twitter), or distract me from living in the moment. (Basically, having a smart phone at all. I'm toying with the idea of getting a basic phone next time.) Prior to removing the apps, I had disabled those annoying notifications. Wow, those were obnoxious.

Because it's a requirement for a group I'm in, I show up on Twitter and Facebook daily, via my laptop.


In case you hadn't noticed, my most recent book releases were last autumn, when Home for Christmas  and A Cowboy for Christmas  came out. I've written very little in the last few months. Lots of ideas and partial projects are waiting for me--patiently, I hope. I think that once I start writing books again, it will be worth the wait for all of us. (This is partly a pep talk to myself.)

You can find all nine titles of the McClain series here and the Serendipity series here.

In the midst of all this, I've been reading more--both fiction and non-fiction. I found a new favorite novelist to add to my short list. Jenny Colgan[image error]writes delightful women's fiction set in the UK. Her characters have emotional baggage, but not the depressing kind that makes me slam a book shut, or delete it from my kindle. I guess I'm a lightweight, because if I'm reading for pleasure, I want the book to be...you know...pleasant.



To sum up, I'm reading more, walking more, and eating healthier. Creating new habits to replace the old ones. I'm also wearing a jasmine/lavendar-scented aromatherapy necklace, which, along with mindfulness and meditation, helps calm the anxiety.

I start each day with a big dose of gratitude, and a cup of green tea with honey. Mmmmm. Funny how perceptions can change. I actually like the stuff now!

Happy reading,

Magdalena

Have you heard the news? 
Now through March 17th, you can get the ebook version of THE RING for just 99 cents!



The Ring
Serendipity, Indiana - Book Five
~ Carla makes wishes come true for everyone but herself. Widower Jared and his kids have won her heart. But is the future possible without forgiving the past? ~

Carla Standish is the go-to person for whatever her friends and family need, and is world-renowned for creating one-of-a-kind, swoon worthy dresses. She’s even surprising herself and the folks in town by dating a decent guy these days. If one missing piece would fall into the jigsaw puzzle of her life, everything would be perfect. But she ruined that possibility long ago, didn’t she?

It’s been a couple of years since widower Jared Barnett and his kids moved to Serendipity for a much-needed new start. They were settling in, but now he’s getting some confusing signals from the vivacious shop owner he’s dating, and the small town “good old boy” network seems determined to treat the Barnetts as outsiders. An offer he shouldn’t refuse would mean pulling up stakes again, but Jared will do whatever is required to take care of his family, and to protect his own heart.

During a business trip, a stranger hands Carla an antique Claddagh ring. She, Jared, his children, and the whole Standish family are in for some life-changing surprises.
 
iBooks: http://apple.co/29Js0SSKindle: http://amzn.to/29ew8xyKobo:  http://bit.ly/29ex5WyNook: http://bit.ly/29llpOa


To see the entire series, check out the Serendipity, Indiana page here on the website.

Maybe you recall that the word I chose for 2018 is Intention. Okay, maybe you don't recall that. The good thing is that so far, most of the time I remember. Because intention--wow, what a game changer. the photo above was taken before I started adding this year's goals.

I'm fortunate to have two daily accountability partners. 
Knowing that I'm going to report each morning makes a huge difference on how much I accomplish.

Maybe I shouldn't admit that, but there ya go. The word is out. I'm going for the A-grade. I'm a wimp under peer pressure. It's not such a bad thing to admit when the pressure is helping direct me toward the goals I've set for myself, right?

I hand-write my list of daily intentions onto a page of an old Filofax notebook in my semi-legible scrawl. I also have three over-arching goals for the year. My goals for the year are printed large and also semi-legibly in the front of that notebook.

They're also written at the top of my Big Markerboard.
And guess what!
Okay, I'll tell you. It's already made a huge difference to have those goals written and staring me in the face all day every day. Because when you live in a studio apartment, a Big Markerboard is visible from nearly every corner. 
Last year I filled the board with too much stuff. Books to write, ebooks to publish in paperback, deadlines for a dozen different projects, dates for promotional events. Sheesh! 
Last year was actually the year of too much stuff. For more than half of the year, I was a bundle of nerves. As I typed that just now, it's interesting to realize that the board full of cramped handwriting correlated with a time of intense stress. Hmm. That probably should have been fairly obvious at the time. But when you're in the middle of chaos, perhaps it's typical to only see the swirl that's right in your face at the moment.
I've had to deal with a little bit of Fear of Missing Out when sticking to my intentions. But I'm going to do my best to keep the promises I make to myself. If you can't trust yourself to keep promises, who can you trust?
Intention. Highly recommend!
And now--ta da!--for the free ebook...
SMALL TOWN CHRISTMAS is FREE - only through January 31st. 

S mall Town Christmas Serendipity, Indiana - Book One

Melissa and her son need a new start. Jim wants a second chance. The past can ruin their future...or make it magical.
Melissa is moving back to Serendipity, Indiana to raise her young son and run her new business—in spite of a painful past and the fact that the man who broke her heart years ago still lives in their hometown.

With his dad’s death, the work of the family Christmas tree farm has fallen to Jim Standish. But how can he hold everything together for the sake of his family, when his past is pulling him apart? Nobody can do it all, and there’s an obvious solution for the Standish family. But in Serendipity, there’s often more going on than a casual observer will ever know.

A new tragedy puts Melissa and her son in closer contact with the Standish family. Ignoring the past, and Jim Standish’s part in it, is no longer an option.

This is a story about second chances: facing difficulties of the past and not only moving on, but becoming stronger because of them. It’s also a story about “coincidences” in life that may be more than that.

A delightful touch of Christmas magic makes  Small Town Christmas  a story that ends on a sigh!

Amazon  (U.S.)    ~  Amazon  (U.K.)  ~  iBooks   ~   Kobo   ~     Nook

Until next time--Happy Reading!Magdalena

The Happily Ever After - Sweet Romance Book Club pick for January is--gasp--Emily's Dreams! It's exciting to lead a discussion on one of my favorite books. It's also scary as all get-out. I'm an introvert, and having all eyes on me and my work makes me feel like a bug under a microscope.

We were going to feature another author in January, but that fell through. I didn't want to see our book club momentum drop off, you know? And I thought Emily's story fit in rather well with the January inclination to re-examine our lives and be better going forward.

So I sort of volunteered.

We started last week with the download instructions for the free ebook. The discussion began today on chapters one through six. I got a smidge zealous and posted what I'm guessing is too many questions. I'll try for three or four each week from here on out. In case you're wondering how the book club is going, I've copied and pasted today's discussion starters here.





Emily's grandmother, Reba Markland, offers some wise counsel in chapter 2.

Why is Reba emphasizing gratitude at this stage in Emily's life? What part does gratitude play when we're going through hard times?

Do you have a favorite quote or short passage from chapters 1 through 6? Why do you like it?Here's one of my favorites. I like it because Kim is [again] using her wit to show Emily there are better methods of dealing with the situation she is in. In my experience, a sense of humor is one of the best ways to survive, and even thrive, through adversity.







And I ended with this: So far in the book, who is making the most difference in Emily's recovery?Who do you think will make the biggest contribution toward her finding and embracing a better future?





If you "do" Facebook, just join the group by clicking here. You will see how to download your free ecopy of the book. We'd love for you to participate in this month's conversation, and be around for those from other authors in the future. Plus there's other cool stuff going on in the group.
If you don't do Facebook (and there are lots of times I'd love to say I don't) blessings on you as you live your real, in-person existence. 
To learn more about Emily's story, just click here to go to the book page. There's a long excerpt, plus all the vendor links.
Until we meet again, Happy Reading!Magdalena

I think this past holiday season was one of my most enjoyable ever. There were blips on my personal radar, some of which were big enough to be called blops. But all in all, it was quite special and lovely. I got a little bit silly one day and bought a pair of Santa leggings at a local shop. What fun I had wearing them! (As one friend pointed out, they'll work as long underwear for the rest of the winter.)



Gift exchanges, of which there were two, were...interesting.
On the morning of the first one, I posted on a Facebook group, requesting recommendations for a daily meditation book. About three hours later, in the gift exchange (which was random), I unwrapped All in All Journaling Devotional, by Sophie Hudson.

It was the only book in the exchange. Talk about serendipity, right? So far (day two) I'm really enjoying it.

At the second exchange (Have I told you how hard it is for me to purchase items for these events? Minimalism is great. I live it daily. Impetuous purchases, for the most part, aren't my bag. Okay, except for those Santa leggings)... Anyway, at the second gift exchange, due to some confusion, I ended up empty-handed. Which was, I realized later, completely perfect! I didn't need any of the items passed around that night. Yay!

The Movie-a-Thon
The Christmas movie-a-thon is finally over, I hope, with the viewing of Christmas Angel in the House.
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Watch it, and prepare to cry happy tears at the end. Bonus: Hayley Mills, still beautiful and facelift-free, has a small but integral part. Yay for being who we are!
The Lead-Up to 2018
As I may have mentioned a few [dozen] times, I finished up both of my series with the autumn 2017 release of book 9 in the Serendipity, Indiana series, and book 9 in the McClains of Legend, Tennessee series. I took some time off in November and December, to (among other real-life stuff) think long and hard about what to do next.
What a treat to finally erase everything from my marker board, and have a clean slate for 2018's possibilities. In fact, I wrote about the end of year process on the Sweet Romance Reads blog. You can read it here. I talked about leaving things behind when starting the new year. 
If you go to that website and squint at my blog post, you might be able to see what my #oneword365 is. If you don't want to squint, I'll tell you. My word this year is Intention. Last year's word, mindfulness, was very helpful. I still get sidetracked, but not as easily as before.
On January 1st, I hosted a lunch for a small group of friends. Because my walk-up apartment is not safely accessible for some of these folks anymore, we used the meeting room of the new local bookstore. We sat and talked and ate and laughed for about three hours. It was a great start to the new year, calories notwithstanding. 


Today, I got back to work on my as-yet-behind-the-scenes project, with my nifty low-tech tools (such as the marker board) to keep me motivated and on track. My plan is to do what I can to make 2018 my best year so far. It's not all about me, either. I believe my books can, and do, lift readers' spirits and give them a break from reality. I know that makes them worthwhile. So my resolve is also about helping you, my reader, in the best way I can.
How's that for a plan?
Magdalena

May you have a beautiful Christmas, and a healthy, happy, and peaceful new year!

Magdalena

I'm writing this on December 5th. This past weekend, I was able to attend a Madrigal dinner and concert (fabulous!) on Saturday night. I missed the Christmas parade since it was the same time as Madrigal.

In church, we sang Christmas songs and had a sermon about the meaning of advent. That afternoon, we went to a big concert by a symphony orchestra, children's choir, and children's violin orchestra. Wow. I sat there thinking, if this is my last day of life, I'd be okay with that. Now, there's customer satisfaction, right?

Counting Down to the 25th
Each morning, I add a numbered magnetic bulb to the magnetic tree stuck on the side of my fridge. A lot of us are counting down to the 25th, whether by adding a magnetic bulb, opening the door on an antique advent calendar, watching a Christmas movie, etc. Maybe all of the above!

I put up my vintage aluminum tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and got the mistletoe ready, just in case, over the door.

Gifts--sheesh--I struggle with this more each year. 
The  monetary cost is part of my difficulty, but also the high probability that whatever I buy won't be something the recipient actually wants, let alone needs. Then there's the environmental cost. Nobody wants me to get started on this whole topic, but if you're interested in some facts and some creative alternatives, read Joshua Becker's blog, Before you buy your kids a bunch of toys for Christmas. And then check out USA Today's article, Why you shouldn't give gifts to adults.

The gift of time, and experiences, feels like the right way to go.

More Christmas this week
On Wednesday, December 6th, I'll be at the Sweet Romance Reads Christmas Party on Facebook. We hope you'll join us! Click here to go to the party page.

Sometime this week, we might check a couple of movies off the list. I'm going to a dinner party Thursday night. Christmas songs play in my apartment part of the time, but I'm not ready for 24/7 holiday music.

Friday looks relatively quiet. Saturday is a road trip and a much-anticipated concert. Sunday night, another dinner party.

And it's all fun! (Except worrying about the whole gifts issue. That, to me, is anything but fun.) I won't go into the rest of my December schedule--at least not yet. Yours may very well be busier than mine, on top of everything else in life that demands time and energy.

I'll let you in on a little secret that probably won't surprise you. I've about maxed out. I think being an introvert, and a minimalist, and a person who cares deeply about the environment as well as the healthful (or not) qualities of the foods we eat, December is, in many ways, too much. I love the Christmas season, and don't want to spoil it.

So let me ask, when do you reach enough? And what do you do when you get there?

Until next time--happy reading!
Magdalena

P.S.: At bedtime, I'm still savoring my re-read of Rosamunde Pilcher's Winter Solstice.. I don't want it to end!

I had such a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. It lasted several days, and I missed one event entirely, due to weather. But I had some great conversations with a variety of interesting people. 
And I had turkey three times. (One was in turkey chili--yum!) And pecan pie just like Aunt Helen used to make. I also drank a mimosa and ate a piece of sheet cake at a baby shower (yay!) on Friday, and enjoyed dinner in a local restaurant on Saturday.
I didn't give myself time to ruminate on the way Thanksgiving used to be. Well, not very much time, anyway. I didn't even cry. I was fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful people, and also (for this introvert) to have enough alone-time so I could recharge my batteries between events.
Speaking of batteries, I accidentally checked the battery (it works!) in my smoke alarm when cooking bacon in my oven. 
Here Comes the Sun - After Dark!


Also on the topic of energy, I'm loving my new solar-powered light. I had read about the Luci light, and bought one to use in case of power outage. It's super! (The photo above was taken with all other lights in my apartment turned off.) Now when I'm going to be coming home late, I leave the solar light turned on and don't have to walk into a dark apartment. I much prefer this to leaving one of my other lights on. Why waste the energy, when the sun can light up the space for me? The Luci light charges in window during the day. I'd be happy never to need it for a power outage, but if I do--voila! Highly recommend. 
Reading List
I recently sped through Starry Night , a Debbie Macomber romance novel from several years ago. It's one of those she had me at the first sentence experiences. Now I'm doing my annual(ish) re-read of Rosamunde Pilcher's Winter Solstice. I want to be like the heroine, Elfrida Phipps, when I grow up. (Though perhaps without the marmalade-colored hair.) And of course I want to write like Rosamunde Pilcher. Good luck, right?
Some of the books I did write are on promotion until November 30th. 

Ebook version of titles 1, 2, and 3 of The McClains of Legend, Tennessee series:

MIDNIGHT IN LEGEND, TN - FREE,CHRISTMAS COLLISION - 99 cents, andWHERE HER HEART IS - $1.99.
You can find all of the McClains series at these vendors:

iBooks
Kindle
Kobo
Nook
Smashwords

Okay, I'll let you get back to the project of figuring out what to do with those Thanksgiving leftovers. Anybody want a vat of potato soup?

Until next time--Happy Reading!
Magdalena

Personal Stuff
It's no secret that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love that its focus is gratitude. In 2017, it falls on the 327th day of the year.

Because I am stubborn in my gratitude, I'm making a personal list of 327 things for which I'm grateful. Does that sound ridiculous? Impossible? I'm about halfway through, and it's not hard at all.

To those folks I'll see on Thursday, don't worry. I won't pull the list out out of my pocket to share around the table. Instead, I'll try to keep it in my heart and mind going forward.

If quizzed, I won't be able to remember each of the 327 items to recite aloud, but that's also not the point.

Life's challenges are easier to meet when I'm armed with gratitude, and with an outlook that's as positive as I can manage. A new challenge presented itself last week, and I'm preparing to deal with it long-term.

Besides gratitude and positivity, sunshine helps. It just does! And my daily walk, regardless of the weather, is as much about my emotional health as it is for my physical well-being.

Last week certainly didn't go as planned, and who knows what this one will bring. But as of this writing, it looks as if I'll have lots of time with friends and family during this nationwide official week of Thanksgiving. Both locals and those visiting from a distance.

Writing Stuff
I was honored to write a guest blog which was published last week. Click here to read "Serendipity Series Surprises" on Romancing the Genres.

I don't usually share this type of thing, but it's in most authors' minds right now. At an increasing rate, book sales are being sabotaged by those folks who pirate ebooks, and those who are scamming the system at vendor sites. Making a living as an author is more and more of a challenge. So that's the bad news.

The good news is that I'm stubbornly optimistic about possibilities. One of those is the sale of books to libraries. Many, if not all, libraries offer lending of ebooks. If you love my stories, please consider recommending them to your local librarian. (They are available through Overdrive and other distributors which serve libraries.) Once the library owns a copy of a book, patrons can check it out one at a time, just like a regular book, except when the loan period expires, the book "disappears" from your e-reader. It's so nifty! I often read ebooks from my library.

That's my quick update. I hope you're having a wonderful holiday week. If you're not, take a break and make a gratitude list. Try for five items, but don't be surprised if you keep on going.

Until next time, happy reading!
Magdalena

A writer friend recently sent me the link to I Talked to 150 Writers and Here's the Best Advice They Had - by Joe Fassler. As my friend anticipated, I found this article quite fascinating, and gleaned some points for continued thought. I'm always ready to read about (and potentially learn and incorporate) better ways of doing this writing gig. Mr. Fassler's seven points of best writing advice, and where I stand on each:

1. Neglect everything else. I stink at time management. Either I don't whittle down the items that get my attention, and try to do everything--or else I cut out the things that I should do, and spend time on what doesn't really matter. Once in a while, I get it just right. It's a fabulous feeling!
2. Beginnings matter. William Gibson's requirement: “The first line must convince me that it somehow embodies the entire unwritten text.” 
I was only brave enough to look at the first sentence in each of my Serendipity books. The best two: 
Small Town Christmas:

There was only one thing that could have brought me back to Serendipity, Indiana, and that was the Osborne house.

And Emily's Dreams :

 Turn the page, Emily.

I didn't say they were great. I just said they were the best of my nine Serendipity books.
3. Follow the headlights.Mr. Fassler says, "Throw out all your plans and assumptions, and make room to surprise yourself." 
I really, really love this. It makes me happy just re-reading his sentence!  The Blank Book was written exactly that way.
4. Sound it out.Reading a manuscript aloud makes all the difference. A friend of mine who owned a publishing company gave her authors this advice. I haven't always followed it, but I should have.
5. It's supposed to be difficult.Is it encouraging to know that authors (famous or infamous, of all calibers) say that writing is hard work, and ever gets easier? Well, no--except it's nice to be reminded I'm in fine company as I pace the floor or throw myself on the bed, trying to come up with what happens next in a story. (For those times when the headlights are on dim, or have burned out.)
6. Keep a totem.I've never done this very well, but a cousin gave me the darling miniature "typewriter" pictured above. The top opens to reveal a treasure box. I keep my Romance Writers of America Published Author Network pin in it, and it sits on my writing table.

7. Find the joy.I wrote a blog about reclaiming the joy of writing. That doesn't mean I've totally reclaimed it, but that I realized I had lost it. It's a step, right?
Another Blog Post that got my attention
Joshua Becker, one of my favorite authors about the minimalist lifestyle, published a blog today entitled, "Don't Trade Your Passion Just to Gain the World." Another riveting read. As he suggests, I wrote down my list of three priorities, and am examining my life to see how well my actions align with those three points of focus. (Answer: needs work!)

In the end, we’re all going to ask ourselves, "Were the things I devoted my life to worth it?"  --Joshua Becker

I've simplified my life in order to concentrate on what matters, but sometimes I still fail at that. This is similar to my situation with item #1 in Mr. Fassler's seven-item list. The good news: I can start working now to turn this ship around.
And then I read an article about brain health...
...and, just in time for the over-eating season--stuffing! mashed potatoes! a paradise of pies!--I will be decreasing my intake of sugar and other carbs, and increasing daily exercise. It will be a bit of a challenge, but not impossible. I try to walk three miles six days a week, but when you live in a studio apartment, there's not a lot of walking indoors during the day. I'm setting a timer to get out of my writing chair every half hour and use my stepper for five minutes.

Miss Minimalist's article on the Minimalist Diet dovetails nicely. I don't have to avoid all the pitch-in dinner goodies, but just decrease the amount of each. I hadn't been to Francine Jay's blog in a while, and am glad I popped over there to see this.

So that's my blog post-reading roundup. Not that I meant to write a blog post roundup, but the daggone things kept presenting themselves, and fit together just right.

And who am I to ignore the headlights?

Until next time--happy reading!
Magdalena